Although exercising is universally pursued, it takes on special importance in the field of the handicapped or rehabilitation, i.e., the effort to restore the motor skills to someone that has suffered a debilitating trauma of some sort. The techniques of rehabilitation are fast approaching a well defined science directed to addressing the specific needs of the patient in a manner analogous to the approach taken by a doctor when first prescribing treatment. Many different products have been developed to enable patients with impaired motor skills to focus on specific muscle groups in conditioning exercises.
Swimming has long been a favorite mechanism for rehabilitation mostly due to the low impact nature of the exercise. The muscle activities in swimming put little or no strain on the patients joints or limbs while providing a significant cardio-vascular workout.
There are several drawbacks to swimming as a means for rehab work. For many patients, swimming is difficult or impossible due to fear or no prior experience. Depending on the disability, swimming may involve too much strain or work for severely impaired patients. Also, swimming is unfocused; many rehab programs require a focused set of exercises directed to the deficient muscle groups.
The present invention provides a unique solution to these problems allowing a controlled set of exercise movements in a gravity free environment. Employing the aquatic exercise platform described in the above noted patent applications, the present invention includes several additions specifically contoured to the needs of rehab support. More specifically, the aquatic exercise platform is equipped with outriggers on either side to minimize the potential for platform flipping in the pool. In addition, a separate lumbosacral support pad is attached to the upper hinge section to provide a neutral position of the lumbosacral spine during a workout. Also, this support pad limits the degree of flexing for the hinge to a small and more manageable increment. Other enhancements include vest-like or strap attachments to the separate float sections providing a more secure support platform for the patient and decreasing the amount of controlled movement.